Verse 14.23
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥
Transliteration
udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate |
guṇā vartanta ityevaṃ yo'vatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the alities, and who, knowing that the alities are active, is self-centred and moves not.
From the owner's sheet · +1 more
who sits as one indifferent, unshaken by the qualities, who stays firm and does not waver, knowing that it is only the qualities that are at work,
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08 · +1 more
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
The portrait continues. Such a person sits like one who is udāsīna, neutral or seated above, not caught up in the play of the qualities. The qualities cannot disturb them. Knowing simply that the qualities are acting on one another, they remain steady and do not waver. The word for indifferent here does not mean cold or uncaring; it suggests one who watches a contest without taking sides, at ease. The insight that it is the qualities which act is the same one taught earlier in the chapter. Here it is shown not as a doctrine but as a lived steadiness.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08